CHARLESTON, Ill. - Junior Ashlie Stokes (Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City North) registered a pair of goals to lead the Drake women's soccer team to a 3-0 triumph over Eastern Illinois (0-8) on Friday (Sept. 20).
“I felt we had variety in how we looked to attack today,” Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented. “We were good playing side-to-side through the midfield, playing off our target, and also being a bit more direct; resulting in a more balanced attack.”
The Bulldogs (1-6-2) dominated the run of play in the first half registering a 10-1 advantage in shots.
Stokes gave Drake a 1-0 lead connecting on her first goal of the season at the 34:54 mark.
Less than four minutes later in the 39th minute (38:40), sophomore Kylie DeHaven (Olathe, Kan./Olathe East) served a cross into the box that Stokes headed past Eastern Illinois goalkeeper Kylie Morgan from five yards to extend the Bulldogs' advantage to 2-0.
Drake posted a 10-5 advantage in shots over the final 45 minutes en route to recording a 20-6 margin in shots.
Freshman Kayla Armstrong (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) capped Drake's scoring output in a 3-0 victory with her first career goal at the 88:08 mark. Earning the assist on the tally was Stokes.
Armstrong led the Bulldogs with a game-high seven shots, including five on goal. Adding four shots apiece were Stokes and senior Paige Dusek (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North). Meagan Radloff directed the Eastern Illinois attack with two shots.
Morgan made five saves for the Panthers, while junior Andrea Swanson (Clive, Iowa/Valley) posted a pair of saves en route to recording her first shutout as a Bulldog.
“We needed a result like today, but our players know we have to continues getting better from back to front and be more efficient in the final third,” said Horner. “We have one more chance to prepare for MVC play and we must get the same quality and mentality on Thursday at South Dakota in order to gain momentum heading into Evansville.”
Drake returns to action with a 4:00 p.m. matinee affair at South Dakota on Thursday (Sept. 26).
